The bout served as the main event of Saturday’s “Invicta FC 6: Cyborg vs. Coenen” event, which took place at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., and aired on pay-per-view.

As expected in the heavily anticipated rematch, Santos fired heavy right hands to open, but Coenen slipped underneath them and moved into the clinch. Santos eventually pulled free from the hold and looked to strike before Coenen brought her back into the position. Santos scored a toss from the hold and looked to unleash strikes, but a game Coenen defended well from her back and earned stand-up. Coenen tried to drag Santos to the floor late in the round, but “Cyborg” defended well and remained on her feet before scoring an impressive suplex late in the opening round.

Santos continued to move forward in the second. Coenen landed a big right hand, but it only seemed to anger Santos, who immediately launched into a flurry of punches. Coenen went again to the floor, and Santos patiently picked her shots while on top. Coenen was forced to turtle in defense, but she showed just enough to keep herself in the fight. Santos eventually backed away, and Coenen survived to see another frame.

Santos continued to overpower her opponent in the third. Coenen tried to find a way to bring the fight to the floor, but Santos looked comfortable on top and would simply back away when she was ready to continue the fight on the feet. Santos started to open up on the feet late in the round, but Coenen showed heart by covering up and trying to outlast the attack.

While Coenen looked both exhausted and frustrated, she answered the bell for the fourth. Santos resumed her assault, even pushing through an illegal upkick that earned a restart. On the feet, she delivered a crushing right hand that sent Coenen to the floor. Santos rushed to full mount and started to pound away from the top. Coenen again refused to wilt, covering up and holding her opponent tight. Coenen tried desperately to buck and roll away, but Santos rattled off punches and elbows. While Coenen blocked most of the blows, the volume of the assault was undeniable, and referee “Big” John McCarthy finally stepped in to call it off with 58 seconds left in the fourth.

With the win, Santos becomes the all-female promotion’s first 145-pound champ.

Gadelha books title fight, Taylor edges D’Alelio

In the night’s strawweight co-feature, Brazilian Claudia Gadelha (10-0) utilized a controlling top game to claim a one-sided victory over Ayaka Hamasaki (9-1) and a future shot at Invicta FC champion Carla Esparza.

After an early clinch, it was Gadelha who scored a slick outside trip and took top position. As Hamasaki struggled to look for an opportunity to sweep, Gadelha controlled the position throughout, save for an odd sequence to end the round.

In the final seconds of the frame, with Hamasaki seated on the floor, Gadelha fired an illegal knee to the head. While Hamasaki blocked the strike, Gadelha’s infraction at the bell was deemed worthy of a one-point deduction.

Gadelha scored another takedown in the second, and she quickly advanced to side control. From there, it was patient work into full mount, where she simply overpowered her smaller foe. Gadelha set up an arm-triangle choke, and while it looked tight, Hamasaki survived until the bell.

Gadelha immediately took the fight again to the mat in the third, and while she advanced to the back early, when was not able to score a finish. A wily Hamasaki again proved durable, but she was unable to offer any counterattacks. Unconcerned with her opponent’s offense, Gadelha settled on top of her for and unleashed punches until she earned the stoppage.

Taylor worked hard to drive in for a takedown, remaining relentless as D’Alelio defended against the cage. Taylor eventually brought the action to the floor, but D’Alelio transitioned well to the back and eventually into an armbar attempt. While Taylor’s arm was outstretched, she alertly rolled to relieve the pressure and moved back to the feet. Taylor shot in again, and the round ended against the cage.

Both fighters came out swinging in the second, and an accidental Taylor low blow forced a brief stoppage. The pace remained high on the restart, and Taylor again turned to the takedown. She wasn’t able to capitalize on the position, though, as D’Alelio worked quickly back to the feet.

The third round featured more toe-to-toe action from both fighters. D’Alelio seemed to be throwing the stronger blows, but Taylor’s movement and return fire bloodied her opponent’s face. Taking turns trading shots, the pair combined to turn in an all-out brawl. At the final bell

In her first fight at 125 pounds, Leslie Smith (6-3-1) proved every bit as thrilling as she was in her 135-pound career, earning a decision win over Jennifer Maia (7-3-1) in a high-paced affair.

Smith opened with her trademark volume punching before Maia worked inside and looked to attack in the clinch. Smith showed creativity as she looked to step over he opponent and move into an armbar, but Maia pulled free, and the pair returned to the feet. Maia wowed with a few strong kicks to the head and body, but Smith’s aggression and volume put an exclamation mark on the round.

The pair immediately went back to work in the second, willingly brawling in the center of the cage. Both fighters landed in spurts, but it remained Smith who stayed busiest. When the fight hit the floor late, Smith turned for an armbar that appeared at least mildly threatening. Maia turned and spun through the hold, but it appeared to be another Smith round.

With plenty left in the tank to open the third, both fighters immediately engaged in rapid-fire striking. Smith’s volume finally paid dividends, as an elbow saw Maia briefly wobbled. As Smith looked to capitalize, Maia wisely dropped down for a takedown. Smith alertly transitioned to top position, where she finished the round and wrapped the win in a thrilling contest.

Penne rebounds with first-round win, Calderwood outlasts Center

Former Invicta atomweight champ Jessica Penne (11-2) made quick work of Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (8-7), earning a first-round submission in her first fight since losing the belt.

It was Rivera-Calanoc who set the tone in the early going, holding the center and feeling things out with a crisp jab. Penne tried to answer with big right hands but ultimately elected to take the fight to the floor after eating a crisp strike to the jaw. Penne briefly took mount before slipping to the back when Rivera-Calanoc rolled to avoid damage. Penne immediately latched on toa choke, and while Rivera-Calanoc tried to last until the bell, she was forced to tap with just three seconds left in the opening round.

As expected, Calderwood walked forward and looked to strike with her crisp muay Thai. But Center stood her ground in the striking game and occasionally looked to push in for takedowns. The two strategies canceled each other out, and neither was able to take clear control of the momentum, though Calderwood’s striking was most likely scoring the most points.

Center continued to look for occasional opportunities to take the fight to floor, but Calderwood defended the shots with ease and rattled off sharp knees and kicks inside. Center seemed to be willing to trade strikes on the feet, but Calderwood’s longer frames and snapping kicks were the more effective deliveries.

Center scored a takedown early in the final frame, but Calderwood alertly scooted her back to the cage and then worked back to her feet. Center stayed tight to the body and brought the fight again to the floor, but Calderwood immediately turned her hips for an armbar. Stalled in the position, the referee actually brought the fight back to the feet in the final seconds, but it finished there. While Center worked hard throughout, Calderwood’s technique was enough to earn her a decision win, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Inoue, Nakamoto, Torres kick off card with thrilling wins

In an entertaining strawweight contest, 18-year-old Japanese product Mizuki Inoue (6-1) used fantastic technical striking to earn a hard-fought decision win over Australian Bec Hyatt (5-3).

Inoue looked fast to open, pumping out a jab and moving around the cage. Hyatt preferred to advance with big overhands from the center of the cage. Hyatt eventually pushed into a clinch, but Inoue turned off the cage and delivered several short chopping kicks to the thigh. Inoue scored a late trip takedown and scrambled well to move into an armbar position, but Hyatt answered by pulling free and hammering away from the top.

Hyatt was aggressive to open the second, but Inoue was able to tie things up and score a trip to bring the fight again to the floor. From there, she was able to control the positioning until the final minute of the round, when Hyatt worked up to her feet. Once there, Inoue scored with a snapping left inside and followed with a few more crisp punches as a stunned Hyatt quickly recovered and offered up her own barrage to close the frame.

Hyatt continued to press forward with power shots in the third. Fighting more aggressively than the opening two rounds, she threatened with heavy blows, but an unintimidated Inoue offered crisp, well-time counters. In the end, it was enough to edge out her opponent in unanimous-decision fashion.

After having a previous Invicta win overturned by the commission due to an illegal blow, bantamweight Miriam Nakamoto (2-0) made sure to follow the rules in a vicious stoppage win over Duda Yankovich (2-1).

Yankovich pushed forward to open, and the pair traded knees inside as they moved into a clinch. Nakamoto’s blows were obviously superior in the position, and she used a few massive elbows inside, as well. Yankovich hit the floor and looked to attack a leg, but Nakamoto pulled free and unleashed a crushing knee and flurry of potent strikes to pick up a brutal win at the 2:08 marl of the opening round.

In the evening’s first main-card contest, strawweights Tecia Torres (3-0) and Rose Namajunas (2-1) combined to put on a “Fight of the Night” contender.

Both fighters engaged from the opening bell and founsd success with strikes on the feet. A Torres hip toss saw her gain top position, but she backed away when Namajunas threatened from her back. With both fighters switching stances and firing punches and kicks, the first was a high-paced affair. Namajunas looked for a flying armbar late. While she missed it, a second armbar stretched her arm shortly after. Still Torres battled through it and moved back to the feet to finish the frame with a flurry.

The pair went back to work in the second, with the longer Namajunas looking to score from range and Torres standing firm in the pocket and firing return blows. A Torres flurry put Namajunas on the defensive, and she caught a kick later in the round to push her opponent to the floor.

In the third, Namajunas looked for a throw from the clinch, but Torres was able to reverse and move to the back. However, and alert Namajunas immediately rolled and took top position. Torres tried desperately to kick free, but a relentless Namajunas pressed back in and kept her opponent on the back. A Torres upkick landed flush, and a late armbar attempt brought the crowd alive, but Namajunas survived the attack and pulled free, finishing the fight on top. It wasn’t enough for her to take the fight, and Torres was awarded the decision win, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Kagan, von Plettenberg victorious on prelims

In a strawweight matchup, Emily Kagan (3-1) rebounded from a January loss with a hard-fought split-decision win over Ashley Cummins (3-2).

After a back-and-forth opening round, a Kagan straight left scored a knockdown in the second. A gritty Cummins scrambled up and transitioned to her opponent’s back moments later, but Kagan shook off her foe and freed herself from trouble.

Cummins stalked from the outside in the final round, loading up on right hands and left hooks as she kept Kagan pinned to the fence for much of of the frame. Kagan was able to stand in the pocket and return fire, and in the end it seemed the power of her blows was rewarded by the judges rather than the busy work of Cummins, and she was granted a split-decision win with scores of 30-27, 28-29 and 30-27.

Despite stepping in on less than 24 hours’ notice, Kathina Catron (3-3) proved a capable competitor against Livia von Plettenberg (2-1) in a 123-pound catchweight contest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to earn the upset victory, and von Plettenberg was awarded a decision win.

Von Plettenberg scored an early takedown in the opening round, but it was Catron who quickly turned for an armbar. While it looked briefly tight, von Plettenberg escaped and moved to the back. Catron turned in to finish the round on top, but it would be her best frame. The pair opened quickly again in the second, but it was von Plettenberg who enjoyed the dominant position if a round that took place largely on the floor. Von Plettenberg again worked herself to a controlling spot in the final frame, and it was enough to earn the nod on all three judges’ cards.

Von Plettenberg was originally expected to meet Cassie Robb in a 105-pound contest but missed weight by seven pounds. Robb was awarded her fight purse, and Invicta officials brought in Catron as a late replacement.

An additional preliminary bout of Tamikka Brents vs. Ediane Gomes was canceled just moments before it was scheduled after Brents suffered a knee injury during warmups.

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